Phil Jackson surprised the world with smart GMing

Phil, we expected, would be conservative, and perhaps impatient. Carmelo Anthony has four years left on his contract and perhaps fewer in his knee cartilage, so the presumed goal was to cram the team with as many prefabricated contributors as quickly as possible so as to WIN NOW and disregard the future. And because it's "The Zen Master" running things, the Knicks wouldn't just have to WIN NOW, they'd have to do it while validating a set of precious, arcane basketball principles. These are not the marks of someone who values draft picks.

That's why nearly every credible rumor -- and every old friend -- had the Knicks trading down to acquire veterans and swap their tanking-earned fourth pick to add a known quantity like Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky. Or, perhaps a guy like Trey Lyles of Kentucky, whose skills weren't worth a top pick, but would make him an apt vertex in a pure Triangle offense. If those trades didn't materialize, maybe Jackson would thumb his nose at years of scouting and just reach for one of those "safe" selections. And then, he'd sit back and wait for the proven veteran players to become available in free agency. Because Phil is special and New York is special and all of us demand a specific kind of excellence immediately, however improbable that may be.

In every regard, this draft defied those expectations. Some perceive Porzingis as the riskiest pick in the lottery. He operates with stunning grace for a kid his size, but because he's tall and white and Mike Francesa can't pronounce his name, fans can't see past reflections of Andrea Bargnani and Frederic Weis. As a big man who thrived in Spain rolling, popping and shooting threes more than he did with his back to the rim, he's not a conventional Triangle fit. And weighing 230 pounds at the absolute most -- like, clothed, drenched and pre-poop -- Porzingis might not reach full form before Melo winds down.